


The Crow Flies Though

by Mornelithe_falconsbane



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Autumn, Character Death, Extra Treat, Fix-it fic, Gen, Treat, but not of anyone you care about, trick - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-20 10:42:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12431115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mornelithe_falconsbane/pseuds/Mornelithe_falconsbane
Summary: Itachi is five when his future trips and falls onto a different path.





	The Crow Flies Though

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kisuru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kisuru/gifts).



The crystal clarity of the sharingan memorizes the spray of brilliant red blood escaping from his mouth, the unnatural twist of his neck, and the slow folding of his body as Danzo crumples to the ground.

Sunlight glitters through the rain, shining pinpoint stars against the moody backdrop of thundergrey clouds and the brilliant yellow of autumn leaves. The crow caws triumphantly as it flies off, leaving Itachi alone with the Hokage’s closest adviser.

Itachi stares, then looks around the clearing, waiting for someone to jump out of the bushes and help--surely there must be someone? Danzo would not have come alone, would he? He’d been offering him extra training, not giving him some top-secret mission.

Danzo gurgles and waves at him, and Itachi jumps guiltily--he should try and help with the whole...hole in Danzo. With First Aid. Though it is awfully messy. Itachi deactivates the sharingan, wishing he hadn’t looked.

He wavers uncertainly for a few minutes, trying to decide if he should put pressure on something or run to find someone. But the bandages in his pouch are new and very white--Itachi doesn't want to make them bloody. And Mother said Itachi should keep them for when _he_ needed them and not share them with his classmates, because what if there was an emergency?

Danzo is covered with lots of bandages, but Itachi doesn't want to touch him. He's all bloody. And he looks mad.

Eventually Danzo stops gurgling at him and he dies for _certain_. Itachi sighs with relief, glad that he didn't have to do anything, and heads home. Strangely, he doesn’t feel upset at all. Danzo was an honoured elder. He’d had an extremely long life. It wasn’t really tragic, was it?

And it was Danzo’s fault, anyway. The crow was just protecting itself--and its family.

 

***

 

Itachi remembers three hours later, while watching his mother try and spoon feed Sasuke. It’s a messy task, but it’s very cute.

“Mother?” he asks when he realises that he’s forgotten about Danzo's accident entirely. “What should you do if someone dies in front of you?”

His mother looks up, a smear of mashed vegetables on her cheek, and Itachi loves her very much. “Well...if you can hide your involvement, that’s usually best,” she answers, clearly treating his question as rhetorical. “Dead bodies are an awful lot of trouble. But you won’t have to worry about dealing with them until you’re at least a chunnin, Itachi.”

That sounds like good advice. “Okay,” Itachi says, smiling as Sasuke burbles gleefully and reaches for the spoon with chubby baby hands. “Sasuke is hungry tonight, isn’t he?”

“He likes tomatoes. Don’t think I don’t see you sneaking toward the sweets, Itachi.”

Itachi puts his hands behind his back, giving secret candy drawer a longing glance.


End file.
